Hotta Masayoshi

Hotta Masayoshi

Hotta Masayoshi ( Japanese 堀 田 正 睦 ; * August 30, 1810 ; † April 26, 1864 in the castle of Sakura -Han ( Shimonousa province )) was a Rōjū (member of the shogunal council of elders) and after 1853 for relations with the imperialist states who wanted to force entry into the markets of Japan .

Life

Hotta Masayoshi, whose maiden name was Masahiro, was the son of Masatoki. He was adopted as heir by his older brother Masachika ( 堀 田 正 愛 ). He studied with enthusiasm "Hollandkunde" ( rangaku ), especially military strategy , and learned both Dutch and English. His contemporaries called him rampeki because of his enthusiasm, something like "Holland crazy." In 1824 he became the 5th master of Sakura Han with an income of 113,000 koku rice.

In 1835 he was appointed jisha bugyō , an overview function for shrines. From 1837 he was administrator of Osaka Castle .

For the first time he became a member of the council ( rōjū ) in 1841 , a position from which he resigned two years later. During this time he had initiated the Tempō reforms ( Tempō no kaikaku ). The next few years he devoted himself to reforming agriculture and defending his fief.

He was recalled by Abe Masahiro in 1853 as rōjū-shuseki . In view of the threat posed by Commodore Perry with his " Black Ships ", which appeared near Edo for the first time this year , he advised against waging war against the Americans immediately. He thought it useful to first strengthen the defenses. In the council, he relied in particular on Kawaji Toshiakira , who administered the finances, and Iwase Tadanari , who were both in favor of a conditional opening of the country.

After Abe's resignation, he was appointed Chancellor and Rōjū for external relations and coastal defense in 1855. He formed a working group Gaikoku-bōeki-toshirabe-gakari from specialists in foreign issues and consulted outsiders, a previously untrained practice.

As Rōjū for external relations, he received the new American consul Townsend Harris and arranged his audience with the Shogun in Edo Castle . In order to strengthen his political position, he tried, in view of the fierce resistance of many daimyo against the Harris Treaty , to obtain the approval of the court in Kyoto . In a process that historically had no role models, he traveled there laden with gifts. The “heavenly majesty” of the Kōmei- Tennō, on the advice of his courtiers, who was controlled by the xenophobic faction , expressed itself on a day-to-day political event without a previous model . The approval of the trade agreement was refused, and the Tenno indicated that he would favor the next Shogun Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu , the son of Tokugawa Nariaki .

Before leaving Edo, Masahiro had spoken out in favor of Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu on the foreseeable successor question because Tokugawa Iesada was ill . In the meantime, however, the Fudai- Daimyō had designated Ii Naosuke Yoshitomi, the master of Kii as heir, who then took over the office as Tokugawa Iemochi . The newly appointed regent ( Tairō ) Ii Naosuke dismissed Masayoshi from his offices, but still signed the " unequal contracts " without the consent of the court. Masayoshi seems to have broken inside because of these defeats. In 1862 Masayoshi was partially expropriated for alleged neglect of his duties during his time as Rōjū and placed under house arrest in Sakura , where he died in the spring of 1864 at the age of 55.

Posthumously in 1915 he was awarded the third consecutive court rank . Masayoshi is not to be confused with the Masayoshi of the 16th century, father of Hotta Masamori , whose name is read immediately but is written with different Kanji .

family

His main wife came from the Sakakibara clan. He had a concubine.

His fourth child was Masatomo (1850 - January 1, 1911; 堀 田正倫 ). He also had five daughters.

See also

• Bakumatsu

literature

• Martin Ramming (ed.): Japan manual. Japanese studies reference book. R. Hobbing, Berlin 1941.
• Berend Wispelwey (Ed.): Japanese Biographical Archive. Saur, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-598-34014-1 .

Web links

• Excerpt from the minutes of the conversation with Townsend Harris

Individual evidence

1. ↑ according to the Japanese Biographical Archive, different dates 1837-43 in yes: 堀 田 正 睦 # 家 系 without evidence

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Hotta is the family name, Masayoshi the first name.